Chapter 8: Zane's Promise

Zane opened his bright blue eyes to see a patent wooden ceiling hanging over his head. He felt a little hazy and a bit on the nauseous side. He then slowly sat himself up taking notice that he was lying on a bed in the middle of a small bedroom.

The first thing that came back to him was the gruesome images of what he had done to Frank and his crew. One might say someone like Frank deserved it for what he did but Zane felt a little remorseful.

He had killed almost an entire crew, staining his hands with blood. It was almost as if he was a cold-blooded killer but he knew he had to do it to save Layla.

Fortunately, Zane was not about to let his actions hold him back. He had made a mistake and these were the consequences he had to accept with it.

Zane then quickly sprang up from the bed before a jolt of pain was sent spiraling through his leg. He had completely forgotten that he was even injured. It was only thanks to the pain relievers that Layla had given him that had allowed him to move so freely before. Since they had worn off, he was reduced to the state of an old man.

"Layla!" He called in worry, trying to limp his way out of the room.

Suddenly, the door was flung open, slightly startling him. To his surprise, the girl he had saved earlier now stood before him.

"Oh hey, you're awake..." She greeted softly.

"You're Sarah, right..? Are you okay?"

Sarah averted her eyes to the floor before responding. Okay was not a word she could use to describe how she was feeling.

"I don't know about okay but if you mean that I'm still alive and breathing then yeah..."

Zane felt horrible for Sarah. She had been through so much because of Frank and his crew. There was no doubt that she felt disgusted with her body.

"I don't know if you mind me asking but how did you even end up with these guys..?" Asked Zane.

"I... I was running from those creatures you call the Apocrypha. I was out with my friends when it happened... I got separated from them and was forced into hiding. That's when I met that guy called Frank. H-he seemed nice at first and said that... he said that he would help me get out of there and back to my family if I came with him. But it was all a lie... They just wanted to make me their concubine..!" 

"Hey, it's okay! You don't have to talk about it if it makes you uncomfortable!"

"I'm sorry... I just needed to say it to someone. I was so scared..."

Zane then slowly began taking note of her physical features carefully. He realized that she wasn't just a lady. She was more of a YOUNG lady.

"Wait, how old are you?"

"I'm 17..."

Zane thought something was wrong with his ears. He couldn't believe that the girl standing in front of him was just 17-years-old. Yet, Frank and his men didn't even care.

Zane hadn't realized it but Sarah was now wearing the clothes of one of the men he had killed. She was in baggy blue jeans and a baggy white T-shirt. Zane realized that his clothes were also changed. He was wearing black shorts and a blue shirt.

"Wait, I can understand changing my clothes but why not wear your own clothes?"

Zane almost came to regret his question as tears began to form in Sarah's eyes once again.

"They tossed my clothes into the ocean. They said I didn't need any..."

"Ahh, never mind... Sorry about that..." He quickly apologized. "Hey, where's Layla, by the way?"

"Umm... She's outside on the deck. She said I should tell you she doesn't want to see you when you wake up. She wants you to stay away from her from now on..."

Zane couldn't act like he didn't see it coming. He had lied to her and got her into an awful situation. It was only natural that she didn't wish to speak to him. Nevertheless, he wasn't about to try and justify what he had done. All actions had consequences. He learned that lying even with good intentions could still result in unprecedented endings.

To Sarah's surprise, Zane slowly picked himself up and began limping through the door, heading towards the outer deck. Even if Layla didn't want to see him, he at least wanted to give her a final apology.

"Zane, I think she meant it..! She seemed really upset when she told me..!" Cautioned Sarah.

"Thanks for the warning but I'm prepared to deal with the mess I made. I never had any intention of running from it in the first place. I'm dumb and I act too nice sometimes... I'm a pathetic person but I at least want to make amends for all the crap I've done!"

Zane then slowly moved away to find Layla, leaving Sarah behind. A few seconds later, he arrived on the outer deck. He was surprised to see that he had been asleep for so long. It was already nighttime. The stars and the moon danced above, complemented by the salty smell of the ocean that surrounded them.

Zane then looked over to the front of the deck to see Layla slumped over the railing staring blankly into the vast ocean. Her dark hair swayed gently in the wind revealing her neatly placed golden earrings. She was back in her original get-up, wearing her black winter coat, black fitted jeans, and her high-knee genuine leather boots.

"Layla!" Called Zane as he approached her.

Layla slowly turned towards him. There was a soft and gentle look embedded in her eyes but it quickly turned ice-cold as soon as she saw him.

"Why are you here? I thought I told Sarah that I didn't want to see you!" She cursed angrily.

"Layla, I know I messed up big time but I'm sorry! I didn't mean for any of this to happen..."

"What did you expect to happen, Zane? I trusted you and that became my biggest mistake! Because of you, I could have died! I could have become some concubine for some fat ugly slob!"

"Layla—"

"You knew my dad was dead..." She interrupted— her voice becoming brittle with tears streaming from her face. "You knew we weren't going to find him... You knew that there was no point in going to Jericho... But you still lied to my face and kept it up like a professional actor! Bravo, Zane! You played your part well! I give you full marks for your acting! But I don't need an encore so please get out of my sight..."

"Layla, I wanted to tell you... I just didn't know how... I feared that you would misinterpret or you would be in too much pain to keep going. I didn't want you to kill yourself over it... I know it doesn't say much but I'm sorry for how things turned out."

To Zane's astonishment, Layla slapped him across his face. The sound of the slap echoed over the vast ocean.

"You're just trying to comfort your guilt! You're just trying to make yourself feel better for what you did. All you're doing is trying to act cool for self-satisfaction! The only apology I'll accept from you is if you jump off this yacht and get out of my sight for good!"

"I can't blame you for hating me. I made a mistake. I'm not afraid to admit that. But I'm not doing this for self-satisfaction or to cure my guilt. I know what I did was wrong and I won't hide from it. But at least allow me to fix my mistake."

"Just get away from me!!" Shouted Layla once more swinging her arm around for another slap. However, to her surprise, Zane caught her arm and looked her in the eyes calmly.

Zane understood that her actions were being fueled by the pain of losing her father. He could never blame her for that, especially after what he had done. However, he couldn't just leave her to suffer in the pain that was enveloping her.

"Why don't you listen to me?!! I said I want nothing to do with you! Buzz off already, jackass! I hate you!! This is all your fault..! I... I hate you so damned much! Just please leave me alone..."

To Layla's astonishment, Zane grabbed her face and forced her to look into his eyes. Zane's eyes were now filled with a determination that she had never seen before. It was almost startling.

"I'm sorry, Layla... I know you're in pain because of your dad and I know I got us into this mess. If you hate me then that's fine. I can't blame you. But right now, we need each other if we hope to survive. These things called Apocrypha are out there and hunting all of us. We need to stick together if we hope to survive. Even if you believe that you have nothing else to live for, I'll help you find a new reason."

"I want you gone... That's all I want... I don't need any other reason to keep living..."

"Then look me in the eyes and tell me that you want to see me disappear. If you do that then once we find land, I'll leave you alone for good. You'll never see me again and we'll go our separate ways. Either way, I plan to survive but I want to ensure that my actions don't lead to your death first. So tell me, Layla... What do you want?"

Layla then slid down onto her knees, tugging on Zane's pants. She hated what he had done but there was no doubt that he had put himself through hell to correct his mistake. Her father's death wasn't his fault either. She knew she was just allowing her emotions to control her.

As much as she wanted to tell Zane to disappear, she couldn't. It wasn't the logical thing to do.

"Damn it..! Just damn it!! Why..? Just why?!" She cried.

Tears flowed from Layla's eyes like a gentle rain. Her crying became loud as she took gasps of air in between each scream. She closed her eyes and began to let out every drop of emotion as if a dam inside her had broken.

Zane then stooped and hugged her. Layla missed her father dearly. He was the only real family she had left and now he was dead. She felt alone and afraid like the world hated her for some reason.

"Why does all my family die..? Why doesn't anything ever go right when I need it to? Why does the world hate me so much..?!"

"I'm not perfect, Layla..." Continued Zane. "Right now, I'm still dumb and inexperienced. I might still make mistakes along the way but I'll do my best to avoid them. And even if I end up making more mistakes, I will never run from them. I'll do what needs to be done! And through all of that, I'll make sure to always support you. I promise."

"I don't understand... Why did my dad have to die? What did he do?"

"Your dad didn't die a meaningless death, Layla. He died protecting you. He seemed to have fought an Apocrypha with his life on the line to protect you. I can't say for sure that this was how it went but I have a feeling that he gave his life for you."

Zane's words cut deep into Layla's heart. What he said was true. Her father had died trying to prevent the Apocrypha from getting to Layla. It had seen Layla's father exit the room and had decided to signal its comrades.

However, Layla's father had pursued it to prevent this. Due to not wanting to draw attention to Layla, he refused to fire his gun until he was away from the room. Upon pursuing the Apocrypha, both Layla's father and the Apocrypha were caught up in a deadly fight inside the elevator. Unfortunately, the Apocrypha had managed to blast a hole through her father's stomach using a specialized weapon for emergencies.

Fortunately, Layla's father was determined to protect her from further danger. Just before he died, he got his gun and shot the Apocrypha in the head. With no remaining energy to keep fighting, her father died, managing to keep all attention away from her.

Sadly, little did Zane and Layla know that despite all they had seen, the Apocrypha had abilities and weapons, unlike anything they had ever seen. before. This was just the beginning.